


Aftermath

by animeyaoikid



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Because I can, Envy isn't a total asshole, Envy tops, I'm just going to post it one chapter at a time, M/M, My First AO3 Post, OOC, Only one sex scene, Pinako Rockbell is amazing, Rats, Slow Build, Suspense, The story is finished, Top!Envy, in the last chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-27 05:22:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5035483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animeyaoikid/pseuds/animeyaoikid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle is won, and Ed and Al are ready to go back to Risembol to celebrate the recovery of their bodies, but what will happen when they find out that Father left a little something, or rather someone, behind for them to deal with? Will Ed's feelings towards the homunculus change?  More importantly, will they be able to put aside their differences to face an altogether new threat?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the End

"Is that so?" Father murmured, "Envy is dead. You will come back, my son, with all of your memories intact."

* * *

 

"I can't believe it's over," Al whispered, "And after all that time…"

"Yeah," Edward smiled. "We did good, little brother."

"But, what about your alchemy?" Al asked him. "You're out of a job."

"I only went into the military to get our bodies back," Ed muttered, "The job has already served its purpose."

"I guess you're right," Al consented.

"Although," Ed smirked. "Mustang would definitely want my help cleaning up this mess."

"Yeah," Al chuckled, as they both looked over the ruins of Central Command that were left after the battle with Father. Without warning, Ed began walking towards the rubble.

"Brother?"

"I want to go in there," Ed whispered, barely loud enough for Al to hear. "One last time."

Al nodded, and followed him wordlessly into what used to be the proudest building in all of Amestris. Ed led them into the depths of the destroyed building, not entirely surprised that he could still tell where he was. He paused by Mustang's former office, and stooped down to go through the papers and wood splinters left where his desk had been. He pulled out a single photograph of an elderly blonde man. He couldn't help wondering why Mustang had held on to something so personal. He flipped it over, and saw the word 'Hawkeye' scribbled on it. He flipped the image back over. When he looked at it, he could see a bit of her features in the man's face.

"That must be the lieutenant's dad," Al deducted, and Edward nodded in agreement.

"It wasn't fair," Edward muttered, "What happened to him - Mustang, I mean - he didn't do anything to deserve it. If that was the science I was so dedicated to…"

"You would do something about it," Al smiled, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know you would try to improve alchemy, Brother. You wouldn't just give it up. You'll still try to change it."

Ed closed his eyes and smiled, getting to his feet. He exited Mustang's office right where the door had been, and moved down the halls, stopping where Hughes had worked and in front of Sciezska's station. He smiled sadly at all the torn and burnt books littering the ground.

"She would cry if she saw this," he murmured.

The two brothers were forced back into the present when a blood-chilling scream pierced the air.

"Come on!" Ed yelled, already sprinting for the stairs that would lead to where the yell was coming from - Father's chamber. The same place that bearded bastard had resided under all of their noses for years. He bolted down the stairs, prepared for almost anything. However, he was not prepared to see someone he'd thought to be dead shrieking and writhing in pain on the floor, which is exactly what he saw.

Envy was the source of the scream he'd heard - and was still hearing - and he didn't need a medical degree to tell why. His arm was swollen and turning an earthy shade of green, and red sparks were surrounding his entire body. Ed kneeled down and examined the IV attached to his wrist, which was relentlessly pumping a familiar red material into his system. The red sparks were growing more abundant and brighter, which only confirmed what Al was about to say.

"The Philosopher's Stone is killing him."

Ed ungracefully ripped the needle out of his arm, and after a few moments, Envy's screams resided into small whimpers.

"Father must have left him to regenerate," Ed muttered. Envy nodded.

"And then… he didn't come back," Al finished.

"Did you…" Envy panted, trying to force his thoughts into words. "Did you win?"

Ed smirked as he held up his right arm, sporting the flesh of his newly recovered limb. Envy nodded, and focused the rest of his energy on breathing.

"What should we do?" Al murmured.

"Help him," Ed told him. "He did have a bit of a turn around before he died. I actually don't think he's all bad."

"Just mostly bad," Al muttered.

"I can still hear you," Envy panted.

Ed chuckled, and attempted to get Envy up off the ground. He eventually accepted the fact that Envy could not (or would not) support any of his own weight. He let several thoughts of Envy's true form run though his head. He knew if that was still the case, he wouldn't be able to carry him.

"How do we get him out of here?" Al asked, starting to favor simply leaving the homunculus to save himself.

"Large motor vehicle?" Ed suggested.

Envy let out a strained chuckle. "That won't be necessary," he coughed, "I weigh about what I look like I weigh right now."

Ed nodded, running several alchemic formulas in his head. He unquestioningly attempted to lift Envy off the ground, and his weight didn't seem to be a problem. However, Envy hissed air in through his teeth every time Ed touched his arm.

"God damn it…" he muttered.

"Sorry," Ed apologized, lifting Envy into his arms and situating him so there was minimal pressure on his arm. Envy took up panting again as they made their way quickly back into the open.

"Well what now?" Al asked, "We can't exactly take him to a hospital."

Ed nodded in agreement. "We'll just take him somewhere safe for now. If he gets worse we'll get Doctor Marcoh."

Al inclined his head once in acceptance to his brother's plan, and began to walk in the safest direction he knew: south-east. They made their way secretively across the countryside, using taxis and wagons to get back home. They wrapped Envy in a cloak to hide his arm, claiming he was ill to account for his inability to stand. In fact, they were all a bit worse for wear. Ed was having some problems carrying Envy what with one of his arms having not been exercised in years, and Al grew tired very easily. When they finally stood outside a house that was extremely welcoming to Ed and Al, and a bit foreboding to Envy, they were almost at the end of their ropes.

Den was as welcoming as always, knocking Al off his feet to attack his face with licks. Ed set Envy down on the grass and caught his breath. Den went over to Ed and expressed his love for him as well. After that, he moved on to Envy, and sniffed him cautiously before running his wet tongue over his face as well. Envy attempted to scramble away, and Den jumped on him, preventing him from escaping. Ed laughed.

"Down? Sit?" Envy tried.

"He's not going to do it if you say it like your not sure. You've got to be firm about it," Ed told him.

"Alright…" Envy muttered, "Get the hell off me!" Den tilted his head in confusion before moving onto the grass next to him, tail wagging madly. Envy wiped his face on the cloak he was still wrapped in. Ed burst out laughing, but the festivities soon came to a stop.

Ed and Al directed their attention to the blonde in the open doorway. Tears began flowing down her face as she jumped on them with just as much enthusiasm as Den had. "Dummies. Welcome home," she sobbed, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Thanks."

"Good to be back."

"Who's your friend?" Winry asked, wiping her eyes.

"Hi," Envy muttered, attempting again to sit up and failing miserably. "Long time no see."

"We've met?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Envy said, falling onto his back again, "You kept me in jar for a while."

Winry considered for a moment, and finally made the connection when she looked into his violet eyes. "Envy?" she asked incredulously.

"Damn straight," he muttered.

"Not much of a threat right now though," Al muttered.

"If she's going to help me I wouldn't hurt her if I could," Envy muttered.

"Help you?" Winry inquired, not sure she wanted to do any such thing. Envy rolled his eyes and rolled the cloak up so she could see his arm. She instantly jumped to his side, examining the damage. Envy shuddered at how loudly her eyes screamed 'amputation'.

"Ed, get him inside," she told him, not taking her eyes off Envy's arm. Ed lifted Envy off the ground again and followed Winry inside as she muttered something about 'demon science'. She gestured at the couch, where Ed put Envy down. Envy gulped as Winry walked back over. "Tell me what happened," she muttered, being careful to look but not touch, for which Envy was thankful.

"He was left with an IV pumping the Philosopher's Stone into him for too long," Ed said simply.

"And how long was he like that?" Winry asked.

"Under twenty-four hours," Ed said.

"It was only painful for about an hour, maybe?" Envy added. Edward felt a pang of sympathy for him. It must have been scary to be left alone like that. It had been - although Envy would never admit that.

"What do you know about this?" Winry asked, "Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"Yeah, I was there," Envy muttered.

"I need to know everything," Winry instructed, "Don't leave anything out."

Envy looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "I don't really think that I should…"

Ed looked at him for a moment and then questioned, "You don't think you should, or you don't want to?" Envy looked at him before redirecting his death glare at the ceiling. Ed sighed. "Will you tell if it's just me?" he tried. Envy gave up after a moment, and simply nodded his head. Ed nodded to Winry and Al, and they left the room, although he was sure they were eavesdropping. "Every little detail is important," Ed reminded him, and sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Fine," Envy grumbled. Ed sat in silence, waiting for him to start. Envy rolled his eyes when he was reminded of child awaiting a bedtime story. "Father was doing an experiment," he started, resigned to telling the whole tale. "He wanted to see what would happen if more than the proper dosage was put into the body. Normally he would measure out an amount or stop as soon as they were done. But, he just let it keep going one time, to see what would happen. The beginning was just swelling, and then color change, and then extra limbs, a tail…" Envy trailed off, for what Ed thought was dramatic affect at first, until Envy looked away. Ed then realized he just didn't want to say the next part.

"And?" he prompted.

"And the physical appearance of the lives put into the stone," he murmured, looking at the wall.

Ed's eyes widened marginally. "It was you," he gasped.

"Tell me something new, why don't you?" Envy snapped.

"Uh, sorry," Ed muttered, "And sorry about… that…"

"Don't be. You didn't do it, apologize for all the things you're actually responsible for," Envy scoffed.

"Well then, I'm sorry Father didn't come back," Ed tried, still not sure why he was apologizing.

"He would've let it happen all over again anyway," Envy said, waving his good hand in dismissal.

Ed looked at the ground uncomfortably. "That's… horrible," Ed stated, and stood up to tell Winry what he'd found out.

"I don't need your pity," Envy spat as he walked through the door. "Thank you for listening though," he whispered.


	2. Welcome to Our Very Dysfunctional Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Envy isn't very good at making friends. Luckily, the people in this household seem to have really low standards.

Ed, Al, and Winry reentered the room after a moment, and Winry sighed heavily. "Well," she started, "Normally, I'd say it would have to be amputated."

Envy's eyes involuntarily widened.

"But," she continued, "This is alchemy. And, because of that, I don't know what to do."

Envy let out a breath. Ed sat down on the coffee table again and sighed.

"What do _you_ think?" Envy asked him.

"If there were some way to safely get the stone material out of your system, then…" Ed trailed off.

"Well how would we do that?" Envy prompted.

"I'm not sure," Ed muttered, "I mean, if nothing we try works, we can ask Marcoh to take it out professionally. But for now we can maybe try to make you just… naturally get it out of your system?"

Envy took a moment before he put all the moving pieces together.  "You're going to try and make me barf it up?" he questioned.

"Hey, whatever works, right?" Ed said desperately.

"There are other ways, but that sounds… gross…er…" Winry muttered. Envy eyed her for a moment, before he realized what she was getting at. He shuddered. He really did not want it coming out the other end.

"Puking it is," he consented.

"Lovely," Winry said, putting on a face that Envy could've sworn was just a bit sadistic.

"But maybe we could have the pipsqueak do the actual barf inducing?" Envy almost pleaded.

"That's probably for the best," Ed agreed, looking at Winry suspiciously. Winry nodded sadly, and then made for the kitchen.

"Hey, where're you going?" Envy asked.

"I promised Al I'd make him apple pie once he got his body back," Winry explained, "And I'm not about to go back on that."

With that, she disappeared into the hallway.

"I think she likes you," Envy muttered to Al.

"Huh?" Al sputtered, "Uh, really? You think so?"

"Been around long enough to tell," Envy said casually.

"How old are you?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Four hundred years, give or take a few. I kind of stopped keeping track." Envy shrugged, but almost instantly regretted it when his shoulder throbbed in protest.  He flinched visibly. 

"Idiot," Ed muttered. Envy growled.

"What right do you have to insult my intelligence?" Envy spat.

"The truth is a defense," Ed explained.

"As soon as I can stand up, I'm going to kick you," Envy grumbled.

"I look forward to punching you in return," Ed countered.

Al sighed. How had the conversation gone from Winry to fighting so quickly?

"Ass," Envy shot at Ed.

"Bastard," Ed returned.

"Drink some milk," Envy told him.

"Spare some lives," Edward shot back.

"Yeah right, when you reach five foot two," Envy smirked. Ed poked him in his arm for lack of a better comeback.

"Ow!" Envy growled, "That was way too far."

"What do you want me to do?" Ed smirked. "Kiss it make it better?"

Envy blushed furiously, "Hell no shrimp!"

"Brother…" Al groaned.

"Stay out of this!" Envy spat at him, let his anger come to a boil, "I don't need help from someone who grew up as a tin can with no questions asked!"

Al looked taken aback, if not a bit hurt. Ed looked furious.  What had previously been playful banter quickly became a full-fledged argument.

"Leave my brother out of this!" he spat, and jumped on Envy. Envy attempted to block his punches, but Ed was aiming almost exclusively for his right arm. Al jumped on Ed and tried to pull him off of Envy. Winry appeared to inspect the cause of all the noise, and she took in the situation within a few moments.

"You idiot!" she shrieked, throwing her wrench at Edward's head.

"Ow!" Ed threw his arms up to hold his head, and Al took the opportunity to lift him off of Envy. Winry was instantly at the homunculus's side.

"Are you okay?" she questioned. Envy's eyes had grown wide and he was panting laboriously. She felt his forehead, which she was sure could've rivaled the heat of a stove.

"I'm going to get you some water," she murmured, "Al, watch him until I'm back."

She raced back out of the room, and left Ed to stare at Envy. He quietly observed the damage he'd done to the small and feeble form of someone who had once been so strong. He'd turned him into a panting mess, fighting to simply breathe.  Ed's anger dissipated in record time.

"Envy, I -" Ed tried, but he couldn't seem to find the right words.

"Here," Winry raced back into the room, spilling about half of the water on her way. Envy took the water gratefully, and felt his stomach seize up as soon it went down his throat. He threw up the water on the - thankfully - wooden floor. Ed gasped at the small red stones mixed with the water.

"Of course," Ed muttered.

"What is it?" Winry asked, turning to him.

"His body doesn't want the stone material in it," Ed said, "It's infecting his body because there's just so much of it. He'll expel it out as soon as he's given the chance to. All his body needs is something to help it along."

"Great," Envy panted, "Now I'm bulimic. Just wonderful."

Winry couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'll go get a bucket," she chuckled, "You rest a while and then we'll try more water."

Envy nodded, and closed his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep now," Ed chided.

"Don't think I could anyway," Envy mumbled.

"Why not?" Ed inquired.

"You try falling asleep while your arm's trying to explode," Envy growled.

"It really hurts that bad?" Ed asked.

"It'd give you too much satisfaction to answer," Envy spat.

"You think it gives me satisfaction to see you hurt?" Edward asked. He knew he didn't have much evidence to the contrary, especially after what he'd just done, but he needed to make Envy believe him.

"Why wouldn't it?" Envy challenged.

"I'd have to hate you to enjoy this," Ed told him.

"What, and you don't?" Envy rolled his eyes.

"You died at least once for every life you took," Ed sighed, "You've paid for what you did. In my eyes, right now you've got a clean slate."

Envy stared at him a moment. He thought about briefly. If he really had been handed a clean slate, what would he do with it? Splatter blood on it again? Do something for the good of mankind or some other mushy girly crap?

"Although, I wouldn't say you've taken a step in the right direction. You can go either way right now." Edward voiced what Envy had been thinking. "Kind of like a baby, only louder and more annoying."

Envy eyed Ed for a moment, before he burst out laughing.

"W- what?" Ed asked.

"That - that was funny," Envy snickered. Ed laughed as well, although it was more at Envy than at his own joke.

"Who knew you thought anything other than death was funny?" Ed chuckled.

"Death's not funny, it's ironic," Envy corrected.

"I guess I can see how you would think that. We go around saying we don't want to die and living like it's not creeping up on us until it's staring us in the face," Ed muttered, looking for a new take on it. "Death, in that sense, _is_ kind of ironic."

"And painful," Envy added helpfully. Ed ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to ask Envy what it was like to die, but he thought it would probably be an upsetting topic. If there was a heaven, he didn't think Envy Had been on the VIP list.

"What?" Envy eyed him.

"Huh?" Ed started, being pulled from his thoughts.

"You got all serious looking," Envy commented.

"Oh, well, I sort of started thinking about… what it would be like," Ed mumbled.

"Oh." Envy looked at the ground. "Guess that's sort of my fault."

"No, I just over-analyze everything," Ed told him.

"You do, don't you?" Envy managed a smile. "Hey, if you hadn't, you wouldn't be here now, would you?"

"Guess not," Edward admitted.

Den walked over to them and nuzzled Ed's leg. Ed sat down on the coffee table again and scratched behind his ears.

"What's his name?" Envy asked, not sure if he should ask how he lost his leg.

"Den." Edward smiled. "He's been with us since we were all little kids. When he pulled through the accident, he just became that much more special."

"Accident?" Envy asked, sensing that it was safe territory.

"Car ran him over," Ed explained, "He's lucky Winry's a miracle worker."

"You are too," Envy smiled.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "She's probably the only person I'd feel comfortable with Al being with."

"What, you don't like her?" Envy raised an eyebrow.

"No, I guess I never really had time for stuff like that," Ed shrugged.

"Never would've thought of you as innocent," Envy smirked.

"You'd be right." Ed crossed his arms. "Just because I've never done that stuff doesn't mean I'm innocent. I've committed the ultimate taboo, in case you've forgotten."

"And you still never learned your lesson." Envy smirked.

"I _will_ hit you again." Ed frowned.

"Hey." Envy pushed Den away from the spot on floor he'd been sniffing.

"What?" Ed asked, holding Den away from it.

"I just don't think it's the best idea to feed a dog barf of a homunculus who just overdosed on philosopher's stone," Envy explained. Ed saw his logic. Winry walked back in with a wet rag and and a bucket. Ed held Den back while Winry cleaned the red-tinted liquid off the floor. When she was done, Ed shoved the rug over it for good measure. Den calmed down, and went over to pant on Envy.

"You're cute, even if you did drool all over me before." he smirked. He began scratching behind his ear. Den licked his partially gloved hand.

"Although I could live without the saliva on my clothes," he commented. Ed chuckled. Winry grabbed Ed by the arm and dragged him into the kitchen.

"Are you sure this is the same Envy I met up north?" she asked.

"Yeah." Ed shrugged. "He kind of pulled a one eighty on us at Central before he died, saying he wanted to be a human and wishing me luck to win."

"You're kidding." She raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Edward said, "He even called me by name."

"Wow," she murmured, "He seems a lot nicer."

"I told him he had a clean slate as far as I was concerned," Ed told her, "I think it actually got to him."

"Well, for whatever reason, he's not acting like an asshole," she stated.

"He still called me short - a shrimp - to be precise." He smirked.

"Wow, and you didn't yell at him." Winry eyed him.

"I don't have to take it personally anymore." he shrugged. "I got taller, so now he's just trying to push my buttons."

"Well, I still have plenty of insults for you that don't regard your height." Winry smiled.

"And I'll still throw equally good ones back in your face." Ed smiled, but then turned serious. "So, tell me, when are you going to make a move with Al?"

Winry sighed. "I guess whenever the time feels right. That is, unless you think he's got the guts to make the first move?"

"Ultimate powers of psychopath claiming to be God? Sure. You? No way." Ed shook his head seriously. Winry laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the second installment. Sorry about the wait, but I'm sick as fuck at the moment. Hopefully I'll be updating more often from now on. Comments and kudos are much appreciated, and they might even speed my recovery! Probably not, but I can hope.


	3. The Obvious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The elephant in the room is addressed, and thus the story progresses.

"Ow…" Envy groaned.

"It's not like we've got any better options," Ed huffed.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just tired as hell," Envy muttered.

"True," Winry sighed from the corner, "It's a shame you can't keep anything down. You must be starving."

"No shit," Envy grumbled.

"But look on the bright side!" Al smiled reassuringly, "All of the green coloration is gone. I think the swelling's even gone down a bit!"

"I think so too," Ed commented.

"Yeah, I get it," Envy mumbled.

"Then why so down, huh?" Winry asked, crossing her arms.

"Because I hate being stuck on this damned couch. I don't suppose any of you bothered to remember that I've been in the exact same place for the past three days?" Envy spat.

Ed, Al, and Winry all shared a look. If the truth be told, none of them had really thought about that. Ed glanced back over at Envy. He internally kicked himself for pitying someone who obviously didn't want it, but he couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness he would feel if put in Envy's position.

"Do you… want to sit on the porch or something?" Ed suggested. Even at the idea, Envy's eyes lit up in a way that Ed found strangely endearing. He nodded enthusiastically.

"You'd think I just gave you a 'get out of jail free' card," Ed muttered, standing up.

"I think you kind of hit the nail on the head," Envy smirked, allowing Ed to take him into his arms. Ed lifted him off the couch and made his way towards the door. Winry opened it, and Den eagerly darted outside.

"Hey -" Envy started.

"He's fine," Winry shrugged, "The worst that could happen is he lies down on your feet."

Envy chuckled. Ed moved through the door and closed it behind him with his foot. He eased Envy down onto the stairs so that his good shoulder was leaning up against the railing that surrounded the porch. Envy closed his eyes contentedly as the gentle breeze caressed his face. Ed sat down next to him and stared out over the grassy hills.

"It's pretty here," Envy commented.

"Huh?" Ed turned to him, surprised.

"It's pretty here," Envy repeated, "I like how green and peaceful it is."

Ed stared at him a moment, before turning his gaze back to calm landscape.

"There's no one fighting," Envy murmured after a moment.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "It feels like nothing could go wrong."

"This place seems… almost untouchable," Envy sighed.

"It wasn't, though," Ed muttered, "A lot of bad things happened to me here. It was almost destroyed."

Envy hung his head.

"I don't think I ever considered that places like this would have to be destroyed in order to achieve our goals," Envy admitted slowly.

"You know," Ed murmured, "I don't blame the homunculi for what happened. It was all that bearded bastard pulling the strings."

"Did…" Envy stopped. He knew it had hurt him, but it would probably hurt Ed more if he talked about it.

"Did what?" Ed turned to him.

"Nothing," Envy whispered. Ed smiled weakly and placed a hand on Envy's knee. Envy turned to face him.

"What's done is done," Ed told him, "And there's nothing we can do about it at this point. If something's bothering you, I'm not going to be mad if you talk about it."

Envy stared intently at his feet and murmured, "Did you… did you cry?"

Ed stared at him.

"Did you cry… when I killed Hughes?" he whispered. Ed gazed at him for a moment and then looked away.

"No," he said, "No, I didn't cry. Winry cried, but I didn't. I was about to, though."

Envy looked up at him.

"I was pretty upset, but Gracia wouldn't let me cry. She said that if I didn't move forward and make something of myself, then his death would have been in vain. So I didn't give up. I kept moving forward, I turned into someone that I know Hughes would've been proud to call his friend."

Envy stared at him. Ed turned to meet his gaze and smiled warmly.

"You should move forward too."

Envy smiled down at his feet.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Ed turned to him.

"I'm sorry," Envy sighed, and leaned his head back against the railing, "I just needed to tell you that. I've been a complete asshole ever since you first met me. Clean slate or not, I'm sorry."

Ed smiled warmly and laughed.

"You know, I think that's the second time I've ever heard you apologize for something," Ed chuckled.

"What was the first time?" Envy asked, a grin forming on his face as well.

"You gave away too much of your secret plans to me and Ling, and your father told you to shut up, if I remember correctly," Ed smiled.

Envy chuckled at the memory, "Hope I helped you out."

"Definitely," Ed said, giving him a mocking look. They both laughed.

"Hey, Envy?" Ed smiled, getting his laughter under control.

"Yeah?" Envy asked, turning to him.

"I forgive you."

Envy stared into Ed's eyes, reading just how genuine he was being. For some reason, it made his heart warmer.

Scratch, scratch…

"Hey, what -" Envy's question was answered when a rat scurried out from under the stairs.

Den barked loudly at the rodent, and began to chase it across the yard.

"Den, no!" Ed jumped to his feet, and ran after the dog. Envy sighed and let his head fall back against the railing.

"The world just loves ruining happy moments, doesn't it?" he asked of no one in particular.

"What the hell?" he heard Ed yell as the rat began clawing up his jacket. Envy watched the whole ordeal with mild interest. Ed managed to knock the rat away and it scurried off. Den growled after it but gave up pursuit.

"Did you see that?" Ed asked, walking back up the stairs.

"No, somehow I seem to have missed it," Envy rolled his eyes.

"It jumped on me!" Ed said, gesturing wildly.

"I noticed," Envy eyed him.

"That thing was huge!" Ed cried, trying to get Envy to be as worked up about it as he was. Envy chuckled at what Ed's last statement could've meant out of context.

"Hey, what - oh, gross!" Ed burst.

"You said it,' Envy chuckled.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean it like that!" he said desperately.

"Sure you didn't," Envy laughed.

"I didn't!" Ed protested.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Winry asked, walking outside, Aunt Pinako by her side.

"Ed got molested by a rat," Envy laughed.

"Pervert!" Ed shrieked.

Winry fell to her knees as her frame was shaken by uncontrollable laughter.

"Come on!" Ed pleaded with them, "It just attacked me! Not to mention, Granny, you had a rat under your house!"

"As long as it's under it and not in it, I don't really care," she shrugged. Ed groaned in exasperation.

"Fine, if nobody cares," Ed huffed and stormed back into the house.

"Um… Ed?" Winry called after him.

"I know, I know," he said, walking back out, lifting Envy up, and carrying him back inside.

"Brother…?"

Winry continued to laugh at the confused look on Al's face.

"What just happened?" he asked, to anyone who would answer.

"Ed got violated," Winry snorted.

"What did you do?" Al asked, turning to Envy.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" Envy burst, waving his left hand defensively. Now it was Ed's turn to laugh.

"At least I'm not the only one who thinks you're a pervert," he smirked. Envy groaned and buried his face in the couch.

"Aw, he's blushing," Winry taunted.

"Am not!" Envy turned to growl at her, revealing just how untrue his statement was.

"He really was," Al snickered in his brother's ear.

"Hm," Pinako pondered, "It had never really occurred to me that you swung that way, but looking at you, it makes so much sense it's almost painful." 

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Ed, Al, and Winry burst into hysterical laughter, and Envy simply stared at her in horror.

"What the hell gave you that idea?" Envy burst.

"Is it really that necessary for me to state the obvious?" Pinako asked stoically. Envy buried his head again. At this point, the incident with the rat all but forgotten. For the time being, it seemed the only thing that mattered was the moment they were in. And, in that instance, the moment was a happy one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses. I am an inadequate human being. You will be getting another chapter today, because guilt is the best motivator. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.


	4. A New Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens, and our heroes find themselves faced with not only their own feelings, but also by a new threat looming on the horizon...

"Damn it Winry, turn on the heat, would you?" Ed complained while reading a book.

"The heat _is_ on," Winry snapped, "And if you're so high and mighty, why don't you do something about it?"

"Fine, I will!" Ed yelled, slamming the book down on the coffee table.

"Could you be any louder?" Envy grumbled, fidgeting around on the couch. His arm was only a bit swollen, and the swelling was going down on it's own at that point.

"Yes," Al stated.

Ed got off the end of the couch while Envy stretched out his feet. Ed stormed into the entryway and they all heard the front door open and close. "What the hell is he doing?" Envy inquired.

"I have no idea," Winry sighed, sitting down where Ed had been, forcing Envy to curl up his legs again.

"You people have no idea what personal space means, do you?" Envy growled.

"Oh, sorry," Winry said, standing up.

The front door slammed open and closed again, and Ed came in carrying a large log and several small twigs. Envy understood his intentions now, and watched silently as Ed placed the wood in the hearth and failed to get the fire going. "Put newspaper at the bottom," he commented after a while. Ed grumbled something incoherent but listened all the same. Once he had the fire started and a healthy crackling noise filled the house, he plopped down at the foot of the couch.

"You guys just don't want me to be able to spread out my legs, do you?" Envy asked, rolling his eyes.

"Stop complaining," Ed said, and grabbed Envy's feet and placed them in his lap. Envy looked intently at the floor in response.

"Look who's shy all of a sudden," Winry taunted, smiling.

"I'm not shy," Envy deadpanned.

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"Come on, you guys, I'm trying to have a quiet moment," Ed groaned, leaning his head back against the couch. Just to piss him off, Al turned on the radio. _"_

_The strange behavior has not been explained as of yet. Violent tendencies have been reported in several homes in the Risembol area, although it seems to be restricted to that area. Professionals say that the rats could have contracted a rare mental disease -"_

"Rats?" Al asked.

"Ed, you got jumped on by that one rat a few days back, remember?" Winry asked.

"Yeah, I wonder if it -" Envy started.

"Enough of this nonsense," Pinako scolded, turning off the radio, "The rats do not have some strange mental disorder. The market has probably introduced a new pesticide that doesn't work, is all. I don't want you getting all worked up over this."

"We're not worked up, but the rat that attacked Ed was acting a little weird," Envy pointed out.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "Not to mention I don't think I've ever seen a rat that big."

"Maybe we are getting a little too excited about this," Winry reasoned.

"Well, I don't think -"

_Scratch, scratch…_

"What was that?"

Winry jumped a bit.

_Scratch, scratch…_

"It's coming from the front door," Ed said slowly, moving Envy's feet off him and standing up.

"Don't open it," Winry pleaded.

"It's probably nothing," Ed smiled, turning back to her, "And even if it is a rat, what's it going to do that I can't deal with?"

Winry just stared at him. Ed sighed and made his way towards the door. His hand hesitated momentarily on the doorknob. _Scratch, scratch…_ He turned the handle, reassuring himself with the same reasons he'd given Winry. The porch looked empty to him. The small space of light created by the door held nothing more than the wood of the porch.

"Ed?" Envy limped up beside him.

"I don't think there's anything out here," Edward said slowly, and began to close the door. A small squeaking noise stopped him, as a rat scurried into the light.

"Ed…" Envy warned. The small rodent let out a loud screech before it jumped at Ed's leg.

"Ah!"

The rat gnashed it's teeth against the metal of Ed's only remaining automail, searching for flesh to cut through. Envy took in Ed's frozen stance, and moved to remove the rat himself. The rat turned and clamped down on the flesh between Envy's index finger and thumb. "Ow!" he yelled, grabbing into it with his other hand, squeezing it until it stopped holding on.

"What the hell?" Ed asked, turning to look at the rat that was being squeezed to death in Envy's hand. He watched as its red eyes bulged in its last moments of life. Wait, red eyes? The rat was black.

"The bite… it's not healing…" Envy murmured.

"Did you see its eyes?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, they were red," Envy nodded, "That's weird, since it wasn't an albino."

"My thoughts exactly." Ed's eyes narrowed as he eyed the rat. He could've sworn it seemed… familiar somehow. His eyes widened when recognition hit him like a ton of bricks. He grabbed Envy's left arm and dragged him outside into the night, and shut the door. He took in a sharp breath when he looked into the unnatural red glow Envy's eyes sported in the dark. "God," Ed gasped, dragging Envy back inside and slamming the door. "Winry!" Ed yelled, entering the room again.

"Was it a rat?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," Ed deadpanned, "Winry, I have to ask you something."

"Uh, sure," she said.

"When Envy was throwing up the stones," Ed started.

"Yeah?"

"What did you do with them?"

"Oh God," Envy breathed, making the connection.

"I threw them out. Why?"

"Oh God, oh God, oh God."

"So they would've ended up at the dump, right?"

"Yeah, I don't see why it matters," Winry crossed her arms.

"Matters?!" Envy burst, "Did it ever occur to you that those stones have the ability to kill everyone in this city?!"

"I don't see what harm they're doing at the dump," Winry snapped.

"Being eaten by rodents, maybe?!" Winry stopped talking and let her brain make all the connections.

"So, the rats are sort of… becoming homunculi?" Al asked.

"Now, we have no proof that that's what's going on," Pinako said sternly.

"Not if they're eating it, no," Envy said, ignoring her, "It has to be introduced directly into the bloodstream for that to happen, disregarding that a homunculus is an artificially created human."

"Then what _is_ happening?" Ed asked.

"This is just a guess, but it's probably changing their mental patterns, and making them get larger, as you pointed out."

"The radio said they were exhibiting violent tendencies."

"That's probably the difference in brain pattern. Sort of like rabies or mad cow disease."

"This is so creepy."

"Well, I say that if it really is the philosopher's stone, this is the military's business."

"I was in the military a month ago, Granny."

"Yes, but you aren't anymore, and don't you dare forget that."

"Yeah, but the military's a little busy right now. My quote on quote family kind of destroyed it."

"So Brother's sort of the closest thing to military we've got."

"I still don't want him trying to deal with this on his own."

"He won't be on his own," Envy said, "I'll help him, and I know Al will too."

"Yeah," Al agreed.

"I'm not about to let him take this on alone either," Winry said, going to stand by him to prove her point. Pinako made a resigned noise in her throat and walked off.

"Well, I think we just formed a damn resistance," Envy commented.

"It would appear so," Ed nodded.

"So, what now?" Winry asked awkwardly.

"We rest," Ed sighed, "I don't feel like going to a rat infested dump in the dark. I don't know about the rest of you."

"Yeah," Winry agreed.

"Good idea," Al yawned. With that, Al and Winry both went upstairs.

"What, you're not tired?" Envy asked raising an eyebrow.

"No," Ed mumbled, "I think I'll just stay up and wait for the fire to go out."

"Okay," Envy said, and tried to place himself in a slightly more comfortable position.

Ed grabbed a pillow off the armchair and handed it to him. "Here."

Envy gazed at him before smiling and accepting it. "Thanks." Envy took it and fell asleep. 

* * *

 

_"Look at them," the voice resounded off the walls, "Look at all of them."_

_He unwillingly turned his head up to see all the faces of the humans he'd ever killed. They laughed at him, taunted him, looked down on him. "You don't deserve to live, you pathetic, disgusting, ugly thing!" the familiar voice of Roy Mustang echoed without a source. He felt his body being engulfed in flames._

_"William?" He turned around and faced his mother._

_"Mom?" he asked._

_"You killed me," she said, "Why did you kill me?"_

_"I didn't kill you!" he yelled, "I'm sorry, Mom!"_

_"How could ever accept the apology of my murderer?!" she shrieked._

_"We will never forgive you!" the voices above him rang._

_"You're nothing but a murderer!"_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"You never will be half of what we are, scum!"_

_"Cheep imitation!"_

_"Your mother is dead," his father stated sadly, "She killed herself when she found out what you'd become."_

_"What?"_

_"She's dead!" he yelled, "She's dead because of you! You killed her!"_

_"Sick!"_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"Unwanted!"_

_"Ugly!"_

_"You don't deserve to live!"_

* * *

 

Envy woke with a start. He was breathing heavily.

"Envy?" Ed asked, sitting up from the chair he'd fallen asleep in.

"What?" he whispered.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, composing himself again.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" Ed inquired.

Envy sighed, "Yeah. Like I said, nothing."

"What was it about?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Envy?"

"What?"

"You didn't go to heaven, did you?"

Envy sighed. Ed was just too smart for his own good. "No," he murmured, "No, I didn't."

"Envy?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The guilt is real. So real. Please comment to let me know what you thought, bearing in mind that I wrote this bullshit 800 years ago. I've gone back and changed some things, but it really is pretty much the same thing I wrote way back when. If you have suggestions, I'm totally open to them and I will not be offended. I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to leave kudos if you wish!


	5. The Silence Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for a stereotypical anime girl meltdown. Are you ready? Good, me neither. Meanwhile, there is plot and gay subtext. Have fun.

"Brother?" Al asked, shaking Ed's shoulder. "Brother, wake up."

"No, I'm sleeping," Ed groaned, burying his face in the cushion of the chair.

"Do sleeping people say that they're sleeping?" Envy smirked. "Well, maybe not people, but castrations, maybe."

"Are shrimp even in that class?" Ed asked, his face still buried in the chair.

"Wow, he must be tired," Envy commented, awed that he hadn't even tried to make a comeback.

"I grew. Doesn't bug me anymore," Ed stated.

"What?!" Envy burst, terrified that his leading insults had been trashed.

"Would you quit being so loud?" Ed grumbled, sitting up.

"No," Envy said simply, "We have to go to the dump today anyway."

"Oh yeah, huh?" Ed yawned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Sure you don't want to send Mustang in first? As a guinea pig, you know? To see if he gets eaten…"

"Brother!" Al snapped, "The Colonel has been like family to you."

"Yeah, like that one crazy uncle who you can't seem to avoid," Ed mumbled, causing Envy to chuckle at the comparison.

"I'd say more like a strict parent," Al amended.

"I've had two parents, and I'm not quite ready to deal with the stress of having another one," Ed grumbled.

A short silence followed his comment.

"Hey, look, we were just joking around," Envy said timidly.

"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed, "Let's just go deal with the damn rats, okay?"

"I'm coming with you!" Winry yelled, running into the room.

"Like hell you are," Edward stated simply.

"But you have to let me go with you!" she pleaded.

"Brother is right, Winry," Al said, "It's too dangerous for you."

"It's not like you've got a lot of martial arts experience," Envy said, gesturing absently towards her. Winry grabbed his hand.

"Hey -"

"What happened?" she asked, eyeing the two red marks on top of his hand, and then flipping it over to see two identical marks on his palm.

"The rat from last night bit me," he stated, pulling his hand back. "Maybe my healing abilities aren't working because of my -"

Winry hit him over the head with her wrench.

"Ow!" Envy yelled, holding his head as red sparks engulfed it. "What the hell was that for?"

"Your healing abilities are working." She smirked.

"You didn't have to test it out!"

"But this pretty much proves our theory," Al pointed out.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "Envy's philosopher's stone just cancels out the one in the rat. It's just like a normal human being bitten by a normal rat."

"Well it looks infected," Winry stated, rushing back out of the room.

"Hey, my hand's fine -"

"Just let her fix it," Ed stated, turning away. "You're already useless enough as it is."

"I'm a lot better than I was when you found me," Envy defended.

"Yeah, but I don't want you to be -"

"Here!" Winry said, rushing back into the room. She halted when saw Ed facing the wall and Envy and Al looking on with a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Ed stated, "Just do whatever and then we'll leave."

"So… I can come with you?" she tested.

"Yeah, fine, just hurry up."

"Uh… right!" She seemed to come out of a trance as she went about treating Envy's hand. Winry stood back to examine her handiwork, and Envy grunted in what might have been thanks. With that, they exited the house and headed for the dump. Envy watched as Ed's ponytail bounced back and forth as he walked ahead of the group.

"Envy," Al whispered, tapping his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Brother isn't trying to be mean to you, you know?" Al told him, "He's just not very good at expressing himself. He gets angry and awkward around people, but that's just how he shows he cares."

"Yeah, I guess," Envy said absently, still staring at the back of Edward's head. "Say, Al?"

"Yeah?" Al asked, "What is it?"

"Do you know why Ed stopped wearing his hair in a braid? He used to do that all the time," he said.

"I never really thought about it," Al admitted, "You should ask him."

Envy turned to him. "You think?"

"Yeah," Al smiled. "You two are friends, right?"

Envy stared at Al, searching for an answer to that question. Not finding one, he walked ahead to talk to Edward like Al had suggested.

"Ed?" he asked, using the nickname that he'd adopted from hearing it so much.

"What?"

"I was just wondering," Envy started, "Why'd you stop wearing your hair in a braid?"

Ed smirked towards the sky.

"I guess what with Father causing me so much trouble and all, I just didn't have the time. It sort of became habit, I guess. Why?"

"Uh - no - no reason," Envy stuttered, swallowing.

"There it is!" Winry called, running ahead of them.

"Winry!" Ed ran after her, worried for her safety. Al and Envy followed close behind. They stopped when they were standing at the base of a pile of garbage.

"Well this smells wonderful," Envy said sarcastically.

"I noticed," Ed agreed, plugging his nose. A bird flew down and landed on the trash, and eyed them curiously with bright red eyes. Ed and Al both stepped in front of Winry protectively. The bird lifted a small red stone from the garbage in its beak and flew off.

"Al," Ed murmured, "Could you…"

"Mm," Al nodded, and clapped his hands together. He pressed them to the ground, drawing a surprisingly large amount of red stones before them from their respective locations throughout the dump. With the stones, rats followed, scurrying after them as if searching out a drug they were addicted to.

"Get back," Ed whispered quickly. Envy took this as good advice, but Winry seemed frozen in her spot. A rather dirty looking rat turned it attention to her.

"Winry, move!"

She screamed. The rat leapt at her, but Al kicked it before it could even touch her.

"Run!"

Ed, Winry and Envy all turned to avoid being bitten, while Al stayed behind a little longer to hold them off. He transmuted a wall and then quickly followed after them. They ran until Ed judged it was safe.

"I don't think they're coming after us," he panted. They all slowed to a stop.

"Winry, are you okay?" Al asked. She placed a trembling hand over her mouth.

"My God…"

"Winry?"

"There were so many…"

"I know, but we can take of it," Ed reassured her.

"How?" She turned on him. "The only useful thing you could do is gone now!"

"Hey!" Envy growled at her.

"We can't do anything about this!"

"Winry, calm down -"

"How?!" she shrieked, and her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. "How? We'll all die unless we leave right now…"

"We'll be fine," Ed told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stared up at him before she fell limply to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"It's okay," Ed reassured her.

"We're really staying, aren't we?" she choked out.

"We have to," Ed told her quietly.

"Ed," Envy whispered, staring over the grassy plains, "Don't move a muscle."

They all turned slowly to gaze in, only to find themselves gazing in horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. That was... plot. Good for me. Comments and kudos are fun. You should give 'em a try!


	6. The Battle Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Envy and the others face the reality of their situation, and it becomes painfully clear how serious that situation is.

A hulking black dog stood hunched over on the side of the trail, red eyes darting back and forth under swollen eyelids as it stumbled on its mutilated legs towards the group.

"It was attacked by the rats," Ed growled under his breath.

"Poor thing…" Winry murmured.

"Yeah, well it's not our friend anymore," Envy snarled, shifting into a fighting stance.

"Is it really even capable of hurting us?" Al asked. Ed analyzed the dog, and stood up slowly. The dogs eyes stopped shifting and focused themselves firmly on Edward.

"Don't move," Envy said again. Ed held his breath as the dog tilted its head until the side of its face was facing the ground. Its saliva dripped thickly onto the grass. Envy shifted, and the dog all but snapped its neck, turning in his direction, crouching lower to the ground.

And it lunged.

"No…!" Ed shouted, jumping directly in front of the dog.

The beast clamped it's vicious teeth on the soft flesh of Ed's arm, tearing away the sleeve of his jacket and revealing bloody skin 

"Ed!"

"Brother!"

Envy wrapped his arms around the dog's neck, squeezing as hard as he could. Ed tried to pull his arm out of the death grip the dog had his arm in. It snarled, tearing at the flesh in its mouth.

"Damn it!" Envy shouted, gripping the dog's torso and twisting it violently. A resounding crack filled the air, and the dog fell limp. Envy pried it off of Ed, throwing it unceremoniously on the ground.

Ed gripped the wound tightly, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"The stone…" Winry said, watching in horror as the stone material tried to take over Ed's body. Envy thought fast. He slammed his arm down on top of Ed's elbow, pressing the newly recovered limb against the ground, trying to prevent the stone material from circulating.

"Damn it…" Ed breathed out trying to bring his eyes around.

"Fight it!" Envy screamed at him. Ed groaned, gritting his teeth. He started to loose control again and his body convulsed as his eyes rolled back again.

"Ed!" Al's eyes widened.

"Fuck!" Envy screamed, clamping his mouth over the wound and sucking. He could taste the same flavor he'd thrown up so many times overwhelm his mouth, but he kept sucking the poison out of Ed's arm until he had to come up and spit it out, not wasting a second in moving to suck more out. When he tasted the coppery salty flavor of untainted blood, he came up and spit out the contents of his mouth on the ground. He turned back to Ed staring intently at his face, watching carefully.

"Ed…?" Envy asked, observing the rise and fall of his chest becoming steadier. Al kneeled down on the other side of him, shaking his shoulder gently. Ed forced his golden eyes open, feeling his limbs return to his control.

"Envy?" he forced out. There were three collective sighs of relief.

"You idiot," Envy said, pulling Ed off the ground and against his chest. Ed gasped, surprised at the homunculus's actions. Nonetheless, he let himself be held. "Why did you do that?" Envy snapped, pulling away and holding him at arm's width. "You know that I can't be affected by the stone. Why the hell would you jump in front of me?"

Ed stared at him for a moment, but then smiled, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he laughed, "I just did it."

Envy watched him in confusion, but felt the relief that Ed was okay sweep through him, and he had to laugh too. It was the only thing he could think to do. "Idiot," he said again, getting to his feet. He held out his hand to Ed, who grabbed it and allowed himself to be pulled off the ground.

"Damn," Ed muttered, grabbing his arm, "It really let me have it."

"Let me look," Winry said, taking Ed's hand from Envy's and pulling up his sleeve.

"Hey…"

It looked like a dog bite alright. The kind that would probably need stitches.

"I can take care of this at home," Winry muttered under breath, and then said, "Keep pressure on it until we get back."

"Okay," Ed agreed, not feeling very energetic after almost dying. They began walking home, keeping a lookout for rats the whole way there. They got to the house, opening the door only to be assaulted by the sound of the radio.

_"The rats have been considerably more active at night, although very few people have been killed -"_

"Killed?" Al repeated.

_"- they are traveling further east. Military officials suggest boarding off houses if evacuation is impossible…"_

They all made their way into the living room. Ed sat down on the couch, beginning to feel a little light-headed.

"We should board up the windows," he affirmed.

"Envy and I can take care of that," Al said, "You need to go get fixed up."

Ed grunted as he stood up. "You say that like I'm still getting an automail tune-up."

"I can give you one of those too, if you'd like," Winry offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said, following her out of the room.

"I assume you boys heard what the radio said?" Pinako asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Yeah," Envy informed her.

"Do you have anything we could use to board up the windows?" Al asked her.

"Alphonse, we're engineers. I couldn't hold myself up straight if I didn't at least keep a bit of spare wood."

* * *

Envy chuckled as he and Al placed another board over the window.

"What?" Al asked.

"I just saw the irony," Envy explained, "Of the fact that Ed is taking what the military says seriously for the first time, after he's resigned from it."

Al laughed. "I hadn't really thought about it, but you're right," he agreed.

"He just doesn't want anybody to tell him what to do," Envy mused, "He's no military dog."

"But now that he's out of it, what the military says is nothing more than a suggestion," Al said, "Not orders."

"But even now he's disobedient."

They turned around to see Pinako standing there, pipe in hand.

"Hmm?" Al asked.

"The military said to board up the house if evacuation was impossible. Evacuation was very possible. Honestly, I don't know how he survived so long with his attitude."

"It's his attitude that kept him alive," Envy argued.

"What's going on?" Ed asked, coming out of the room he and Winry had gone in a while ago, sporting a bandaged arm.

"We were just finishing," Al said.

"Yeah. What took you so long?"

"I figured a tune up on my leg wouldn't be a bad idea," Ed shrugged.

"He definitely needed it," Winry said, coming out from behind him, holding a wrench that she was wiping off with a rag, "Turns out he's still getting taller."

Ed shot her a glare. Envy and Al both rolled their eyes, turning back to the window.

By the time night fell, they were all sitting around the fireplace in the living room, that had also been blocked off by a fire that they had vowed to keep burning. No one had voiced what they were doing, but they all seemed to know. They were all doing the same thing.

Waiting.

Winry glanced around apprehensively, and Al moved closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Ed smiled momentarily, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to appreciate their blossoming romance. The tension in the room was too thick for him to focus on anything but the little noises coming from outside. To him, every snapping twig was a rat approaching. Every branch bumping at the side of the house was the rats trying to scratch their way through the wood.

"Maybe they aren't coming," Winry suggested.

Envy shook his head. "No, the stone causes a certain level of hostility. They'll come after us if they know we're here."

"Maybe they don't know we're here."

"Should we turn out the lights?" Al suggested.

_Scratch, scratch…_

"They know we're here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually feel pretty dang good about this one. Please let me know what you thought below, and thank you for reading!


	7. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A disaster puts Ed's feelings into sharp focus.

Everyone had fallen asleep except for Envy, unable to shake the haunting feeling that the rats were waiting just outside the front door. The fire still burned in the hearth, but he prodded it with the poker just to be sure.

_Scratch, scratch…_

It took Envy a moment to register that the sound hadn't come from under the house like all the others had. His eyes followed the source of the sound, but he was sure that he must've misheard. He was sure the sound couldn't be coming from where he thought it was. It certainly couldn't have come from upstairs. But…

_Scratch, scratch…_  

Envy stood up, walking to the foot of the stairs and looking up the dark hallway. He listened carefully, sure he could hear a distinct shuffling coming from above. He backed slowly away from the staircase, turning to look about the living room. He made his way over to the coffee table and picked up the lamp, returning to the base of the staircase and turning it on. The halo of light the lamp provided served to get him up the stairs. He didn't see any rats, but he had to be sure.

He slowly ascended the second flight of stairs following the landing, pausing when the stair under his foot creaked. The following succession of loud scampering following the noise confirmed his worst suspicions. He narrowed his eyes as the source of the sound came ever nearer, and he found himself staring down at the brass doorknob of Winry's bedroom door. He had to remind himself that the rest of his companions were safe downstairs so as not to panic. He silently considered waking Edward, but he quickly decided against it. If any of them were bitten they risked a terrible kind of infection, while to him they had no more affect than that of normal rats. He also knew that if he were to wake Ed, the human would insist upon being involved. He took a deep breath and reached toward the doorknob, cracking the door.

Nothing happened.

He steeled himself and pushed the door in, walking into the darkness. His eyes were immediately drawn to a spot in the ceiling that had been chewed clean through, allowing the moonlight to shine in a misshapen circle on the floor. The scurrying drew his attention to the dark area beyond the light cast by his lamp. He raised it ever so slightly, stepping forward.

He dropped the lamp at what he saw, but that was the only thing he had time to do before he was swarmed.

The hundreds of rats that had been occupying Winry's desk, bed, and windowsill scurried up his body, digging their sharp little teeth and nails into any flesh they could access. The only thing he managed to do before he collapsed under the hundreds of rodent bodies was slam the door closed. He fell to his knees, squishing several of the creatures in the process. His hands flew up to cover his eyes, folding in on himself as the rats covered his utterly exposed back.

* * *

 

Ed's eyes flew open upon hearing a loud slamming sound. Another crash resounded from above, which woke Al as well. Ed turned to him, terror rising in his throat when he noticed Envy's absence.

"Hurry!" he hissed, bolting up the stairs, Alphonse not a second behind him. Ed stopped in front of Winry's bedroom door, eyes dilating when he heard the symphony of frenzied squeaks coming from within.

"What's going on?" Winry asked, running up the stairs.

"The rats must've found a way to get inside," Al responded, watching as Ed pushed on the door without result.

"Help me!" Ed yelled at them. They were instantly at his side, pushing on the door, actually creating a crack in the door, but nothing more. "Al, can you -" Ed started.

"On it!" Al answered, clapping his hands together and making another door to the room. Ed wasted no time in opening it, charging in. He looked to his left, and gasped. What looked like over a thousand rats were piled up in one spot, scurrying and squeaking as the shuffled their positions. However, a single gloved hand lay lip on the floor, protruding from under the swarm. Ed recognized the hand as Envy's. Al clapped his hands together and pressed them to the floor, making a wooden spike that sent Envy - and most of the rats - flying.

"What're you doing, Al?!" Ed shrieked.

"He'll heal from our attacks, Brother!" Al answered, his theory confirmed when Envy's body erupted in red sparks. Ed was filled with a subconscious relief, but he knew that Envy was only recovering from his brother's heavy alchemic blow. Any damage done by the rats would remain.

He rushed in, taking advantage of the rodents' temporary confusion, kicking the remaining rats off of the Envy's body. "Keep them off me!" he shouted at his brother.

"Right!"

Ed kicked a straggling rat off Envy's shoulder and gripped the homunculus under his arms. He dragged Envy's unconscious form out past his brother and into the hallway. The rats had focused their efforts on Alphonse, keeping them out of the hallway for the moment.

"Al!" Ed shouted into the room once Envy's feet were clear of the door. Al flipped over them and slammed the door.

"Seal that!" Ed ordered. Al sealed off his makeshift door as well as the original, performing a few more transmutations, the results of which Ed couldn't see, but he had to assume he was sealing off the floor inside Winry's room. Ed steadied himself, taking a few deep breaths once the immediate danger had resided. He glanced down at the homunculus in his arms, wincing at the little divots taken out of his skin. He silently wondered if he was feeling what Winry felt when he and Al got hurt. "Envy…" he whispered, silently praying that Envy would wake up.

"He needs medical attention," Winry whispered, as if anything louder would shatter their reality. Ed nodded, not sure if he could properly form words. He scooped Envy into his arms, carrying him carefully down the stairs. He laid him down on the couch when he reached the living room. He sat down beside him, staring at his motionless visage.

"Ed," Winry said, trying to convey her sympathy.

"Tell me what I can do," he said in response, not taking his eyes away from Envy.

"We need to clean his wounds first," she said, seeming a little more comfortable once she was in familiar territory.

"Okay," Ed answered. Al stepped forward and placed a silent hand of reassurance on his brother's shoulder. Ed reached forward, recoiling slightly before giving in and running his hand through Envy's long, dark hair. It was softer than he'd expected.

Winry left the room, most likely to get any medical supplies she deemed necessary.

"Brother?" Al asked quietly.

"It's funny," Ed told him, "I used to hate him. Now… just seeing him hurt…"

"I know, Brother," Al said gently, "It's okay."

Winry came back into the room, not commenting on the hand Ed still had buried in Envy's hair. "Here," she said, handing a wet towel to Ed, silently sitting on the floor near Envy's feet, beginning to wipe away the blood on his legs. Ed watched her movements for a moment, noting how she gently dabbed at the actual wounds and wiped at the blood on unharmed parts of the homunculus's skin. Once he was sure that he wouldn't do something to make Winry angry, and more importantly, was sure he wouldn't hurt Envy, Ed turned away and began to give the same treatment to his face.

He dabbed gently at a shallow wound on his forehead, marveling at how peaceful Envy's face looked, even with blood covering the better part of it.

And then, Envy woke up.

His hands shot up to cover his face, an animalistic whine bubbling up from his throat as he began to shake violently. Ed practically jumped out his skin in shock at the sudden rush of movement and noise in the silent environment.

"Envy!" Ed yelled, panicking minutely, "Envy, calm down!"

Envy simply curled in on himself, shivering even more.

"Ed!" Winry burst, "He needs to stop moving! His injuries…!"

Ed gripped Envy by his shoulders, raising his voice, "Envy! Listen to me! You're safe!"

After a moment, Envy's trembling slowed, and his hands slowly dropped away from his face to reveal horrified violet eyes. "You're safe," Ed repeated, staring into Envy's eyes, holding his gaze, "Okay?" Envy was still shivering, but he managed a shaky nod. "Alright," Edward said, moving one hand back into Envy's hair, running his fingers through it reassuringly. He smiled gently, startled when Envy's eyes filled with tears.

"Hey, i-it's okay," Ed tired, not sure how to deal with the situation. However, Envy lunged forward, gripping Ed as tightly as he could without breaking his ribs, not giving him a whole lot of choice in the matter. "Ack - Envy, human here, need air-"

"Sorry," Envy mumbled, pulling away from him as quickly as he had hugged him.

"Envy, stop moving," Winry said sternly. Envy's eyes darted to her, then trailed down his own body. His stomach felt as if it had flipped upside down. There was blood were there should have been red sparks. It was so wrong that he wanted to vomit.

"Hey," Ed's voice brought him back to earth, "It's okay."

Envy simply stared into his eyes, the steady golden gaze seemingly grounding him. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't disturbed, terrified, and in a lot of pain, but the calming effect Edward's presence provided made it easier to tolerate. He slowly leaned back against the cushions, painfully aware of every little prickle sent up his spine when the couch fabric brushed against his wounds. He couldn't suppress a whimper once he was completely settled. He'd had worse injuries, undoubtedly, but he'd never had to endure them. He looked up at Ed, his eyes pleading him to simply make the pain go away. Ed could do no such thing. Instead he watched helplessly as the homunculus's back arched involuntarily to escape the pain.

"Envy," Winry said quietly, "We need to clean your injuries."

"Will that… make it stop hurting?" he asked, allowing a hint of hope to creep into his voice.

"Not immediately, no," Winry told him, not bothering to sugar-coat it, "It'll sting a bit."

"Then don't-"

"We have to, Envy," Al informed him, his hand squeezing his brother's shoulder, making sure that he had heard too.

"… Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I wrote this a long time ago, and it shows. I certainly hope you enjoy it in spite of my mediocre writing style.


	8. Renewed Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unlikely friend comes to the rescue, and Ed and Envy have a much-needed discussion of their feelings.

"We have to get him out of here," Ed whispered to Al, trying not to wake Envy from his uneasy slumber.

"What about the rats?" Winry asked, having overheard their conversation.

"Alphonse will transmute a car outside as close to the porch as he can -"

"Brother, it's too dangerous!" Al hissed, "What if you get bitten?"

"I'll run outside with Envy, and you can try to keep the rats off of me long enough for me to get to the car."

Just then, a low roaring sound came from outside the house, slowly building in volume.

"What the -"

The roaring became deafening, and a vibrant orange light shone through the cracks in the boards on the windows. Envy woke with a start, and Edward rushed to the front door.

"What're you doing?!"

"Brother, wait!"

But Ed wrenched open the front door, only to see flames engulfing the hillside. He gasped as his hair was whipped back and forth by the wind caused by the flames, and as quickly as the fire had come, it vanished, leaving a half-burnt countryside. Standing in the wake was none other than Roy Mustang, backed by about fifty other soldiers. "You just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" he called, approaching the house. Only then did Edward realize what Mustang had done: he'd burned the rats to death.

"Trouble has a way of searching me out," Ed retorted, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages. He stepped down from the porch and met Mustang halfway.

"I believe thanks are in order," Roy said, smirking.

"Yeah, whatever," Edward grumbled, shaking Mustang's hand nonetheless.

"Brother, what…?" Alphonse was standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Al, look who decided to show up!" Ed called. Ed turned back to Mustang. "You wouldn't happen to have a car, would you?" On Roy's affirmative, Edward led him up to the house, stopping on the porch. "Wait here," he said, before proceeding into the house with Alphonse. One right turn later he saw Envy, still on the couch. He looked like he was in pain, with the slightest hint of confusion.

"Mustang's outside right now," Edward explained. Envy's eyes widened. Ed had anticipated Envy's fear, but seeing it caused a dull ache in his chest. He was overcome by a sudden urge to hold the homunculus, to let him know he was okay.

"Can you change forms?" Ed asked. Envy shook his head, causing his hair to flop around him.

"Then he'll just have to put up with it," Edward decided. With that, he left to go fetch Mustang. Envy curled in on himself, despite the stress it put on his wounds. There was a moment's pause, and then Edward returned with Mustang in tow. Sure enough, when Mustang came in, his eyes were filled with hatred. Ed must have briefed him on the situation, though, because he didn't attack.

"So you lived?" he asked bitterly.

"No, I died," Envy snapped back, "Seems someone saw fit to revive me."

"What a pity," Mustang retorted. They stared each other down for a moment. Ed had the desire to tell Mustang to "fuck off," but he didn't think that would be received well. If they were going to get an escort to a hospital, they needed to play nice.

"Look, Colonel," Ed interjected, "We could really use a military escort to the nearest hospital, and I need you two to put aside your differences long enough for that to happen." The two males continued to glare at each other. "At least pretend the other isn't here," Edward sighed.

"Fine," Envy snarled, looking away. Mustang didn't budge.

"How do I know I can trust him?" he asked.

"Because I said so," Edward insisted, already scooping Envy up into his arms. Envy automatically wrapped his arms around Edward's neck, making Mustang raise an eyebrow. "Let's go." They all made their way out onto the front porch, facing the soldiers Mustang had brought with him.

"Attention!" Mustang called, "A… civilian has been gravely injured and requires a military escort to East City Hospital! Squad A will come with me to escort him! The rest of you will stay behind and help evacuate any other survivors!"

The soldiers leaped to attention, hurrying to go about their designated tasks. Soon, they had all squeezed into the back of a military car, and they were headed towards East City. Envy's condition worsened on the ride to the hospital, so much so that he stopped retorting to Mustang's insults. When this happened, Mustang began inquiring as to how a homunculus had gotten wounded in the first place, and how Envy had come back to life. Edward explained everything, and in the midst of conversation, they reached the hospital in what felt like very little time.

As soon as they arrived, Envy was rushed into the emergency ward, leaving Edward behind in the waiting room with everybody else.

"Why are you helping him?" Roy asked, taking his place beside Ed.

"Because I'm in love with him," Ed thought about saying, but instead, he said, "He's changed," and left it at that. With that, he went over to sit with Al, Winry, and Pinako.

"Brother?" Al asked, as Ed took his seat.

"Yeah?" Ed responded, "What is it?"

"What… well, what exactly is between you and Envy?" Al said slowly.

It cost Edward something to answer. "Nothing," he answered, "But…"

"But?" Winry asked.

"But I feel like there _could_ be something. I mean, I like him…"

"You like him in what way?" Al prompted.

"I… I like him… romantically," Ed admitted, finally.

"Then tell him," Winry insisted. Ed looked up and saw Al, Winry, and Pinako all smiling at him encouragingly.

"… Thanks, guys," Ed murmured.

After that, they all waited quietly for what felt like hours. It probably was. Edward's eyes were drooping with the effort of staying awake through the night by the time he heard any news of Envy.

"Edward Elric?" a male nurse called. Ed was on his feet in an instant, his fatigue completely forgotten.

"How is he?" Edward asked quickly, looking up at the nurse.

"He's fine," the nurse assured him, smiling gently. "He's just fine. He's been asking for you."

Edward blushed a bit at that, but he allowed the nurse to lead him down the hallway, leaving Al and the others behind him. When they reached Envy's room, the nurse stopped and held the door open for Ed. Ed thanked him and entered the room, hearing the door shut behind him. Envy was laying on the bed in the center of the room, looking very tired, granted, but he didn't seem to be in any pain. Edward sighed in relief.

"Hey," Envy said groggily.

"Hey," Edward said, taking a seat in the chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Drugged as fuck," Envy answered. Ed chuckled, taking in the stitches under Envy's left eye.

"Are you in any pain?" Ed asked. He had to make sure.

"No," Envy answered, "I don't feel much. My head feels fuzzy."

"Okay," Ed murmured, brushing some of the hair out of Envy's face.

"They said the bites might leave scars," Envy whispered, looking down. "Do you think I'll be able to shape shift them away?"

Ed paused a moment, not sure how to put it without hurting the homunculus. Finally, he just shook his head, having already run the alchemical formulas through his head multiple times. Envy looked heartbroken.

"But…" Envy tried, before trailing off in defeat. He covered his face with his hands. "You probably think I look disgusting."

"No!" Ed burst, perhaps louder than was necessary. "I mean… you look wonderful."

"No I don't," Envy childishly insisted. Edward sighed and pried Envy's hands away from his face.

"Hey, look at me," Edward gently commanded, gazing into Envy's violet eyes. "You're beautiful."

With that, Ed leaned down and gently brushed Envy's lips with his own. Envy's eyes widened as Ed pulled away.

"Why did you…?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ed asked.

"But I'm…"

"What? What could you possibly be that would stop me from loving you?"

Envy's eyes widened even further. "You… love me?"

Ed considered saying, "Well, duh," but instead he simply said, "Yeah."

A slight blush appeared on Envy's cheeks. "I… I love you too," he said, looking anywhere but Ed's face. Ed smiled gently and kissed Envy again.

Edward couldn't remember the last time he felt so happy. He'd been so glad to return Al to his body, but losing his alchemy had been a heavier blow than he would admit. He'd had no idea what to do with himself in the aftermath, no idea what his purpose was. Now he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did write this quite a while back, and rereading it now, I realise that this chapter feels a bit rushed. I apologize for that, but I still hope you enjoyed.


	9. The Next Big Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Ed and Envy embark on a brand new journey, they also discover something that lets them express their feelings in a slightly more physical way. So yeah. Anal.

Ed tried not to cry. He really did. It was hard not to when saying goodbye to his little brother.

"I'll be fine, Brother," Al comforted.

"I know," he insisted, wiping tears from his face. "I'll miss you."

"Yeah," said Alphonse gently, "I'll miss you too."

"Do you have to go?" Winry asked them.

"Yeah," Al insisted, "I'll go east and Brother will go west. We'll be back in a year."

"We could have gone together," Ed tried, already knowing it was too late.

"We can cover more ground faster this way," Al rationalized, as he had many times before.

"Hey, at least you've still got me," Envy said, not wanting to see Edward cry.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, smiling weakly. Envy smiled back and placed a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"It's almost time to leave," he said, shooting a glance at the train. The whistle sounded in confirmation.

"Bye," Al said. Then, without warning, he wrapped his older brother in a hug. Edward welcomed it, even if it made him painfully aware that Al was still taller than him.

"Send letters. All the time," Ed insisted.

"You too, Brother," Al said, "I'll see you in a year."

"Bye."

"Ed! The train's gonna leave!" Envy called. Ed and Al broke apart, and Ed ran over to Envy, where he boarded the train. He turned around and watched Al, even as the train started to move. The wind began to whip his hair back and forth, but Ed didn't put his head inside the train until Al had disappeared from sight. "Ed? Are you okay?" Envy asked as Ed closed the compartment window.

"Yeah," Ed sighed, "It's only… I just got him back."

Envy closed the distance between them and wrapped Ed in a hug. "He'll be okay," Envy assured him, not knowing what else he could say. They stood like that for a while, enjoying the privacy of their compartment. Eventually, they pulled apart. When they did, Ed was actually smiling.

"What?" Envy asked, wondering what could make Edward smile when he was so sad a moment before.

"It's just, this is the next big adventure, isn't it?"

Envy smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

When they arrived in Creta, they went out for dinner and checked into a hotel. Envy had blushed furiously when Ed had requested a one-bed hotel room. The woman at the counter hadn't questioned it, probably assuming Envy was a girl. Bitch.

"Dinner was great, wasn't it?" Ed asked, "I didn't expect Cretan food to be so good."

"Yeah," Envy agreed. His heart wasn't really in the conversation. He was too busy over-thinking what Ed's intentions might be. He'd gotten them a one-bed hotel room. Was it just to sleep in? Or was he planning something else? Envy couldn't say he would mind if he was…

"Hey, Envy? Are you okay?" Ed asked, walking out of the bathroom. "You seem kind of distant."

"It's nothing," Envy lied.

"Really?" A thought occurred to Edward. "Is this about the bed? Because we don't have to do anything if you don't want to. I just thought…"

"Wait, you thought? There was a thought?" Envy asked quickly.

"Yeah," Edward muttered, looking at the ceiling. "I thought that maybe we could, you know, if you wanted to."

Envy stared at the slight blush that had appeared on Edward's cheeks for a moment, and then he smiled. "I want to," he assured him.

"You do?" Ed asked, looking genuinely surprised. "I mean, I'd hoped, but I didn't think… I mean _maybe_ -"

"Ed," Envy interrupted, taking the blonde's face in his hands. He noticed for the first time that Ed was almost as tall as he was. "I want to."

A silent understanding passed between the two males. Gold pierced violet, and for the briefest of moments, the world around them seemed to dissolve, leaving just the two of them.

"This is really happening," Ed breathed, his eyes slipping closed.

"Yeah, it is," Envy responded, his features softening. Edward seemed genuinely nervous. "We don't have to, you know."

"I want to," Ed reiterated. Envy smiled so wide his face hurt, before planting a kiss on Edward's lips. It was chaste and easy, followed quickly by several more of its kind. Ed was smiling too by the time Envy was done. Ed clasped Envy's hand in his, and together, they made their way to the bed.

"You know, I've wanted to do this for a while now," Envy murmured, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"Me too," Ed replied, sitting next to him.

"So, do you want to top or shall I?" Envy asked, trying not to make it seem awkward.

"Oh, well, I mean, you can," Ed mumbled, "I don't really…"

Envy sighed. "Tell me this isn't because you're afraid you'd hurt me."

"Well, I probably would!" Edward defended himself. "I mean, I don't… I've never…"

"I know," Envy acknowledged, having known Ed was a virgin. "Don't worry about it." With that, he pushed Edward backward so he was laying on the bed.

"What the hell was that for?" Ed asked, even though he wasn't terribly angry. Envy simply laughed.

"You're cute when you're mad," he explained. Edward huffed, but his cheeks turned a light shade of red. Envy slowly crawled up the bed so that he was straddling Ed. Envy sucked in a breath, realizing how personal the experience was going to be. He'd never had sex face-to-face before in his life.

Edward gazed up at Envy. He'd never done anything like this before, and he was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. Envy was on top of him, for crying out loud! He started to get nervous.

"Hey," Envy murmured, noticing the blonde's distress. "It's okay. I'd never hurt you. You know that, right?"

Gazing up into Envy's violet eyes, Ed couldn't help but believe him. He nodded.

Envy smiled down at him, kissing him softly on the lips. Envy wished he had his own virginity back so that he could give it to the wonderful human underneath him.

"I love you," he whispered in Ed's ear. He felt like he had to say it. Something about the situation made it necessary. He nuzzled his nose into Edward's neck, bracing himself on his elbows. He licked at the skin of Edward's throat, nibbling gently.

Ed gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Envy sucked the skin into his mouth, biting it harshly, and then kissing it in a gentle apology.

Envy leaned back to assess what he would later call his "masterpiece". He smirked when he did, pleased to find Edward was hard underneath him. Edward stayed still, wondering if Envy could feel what he was doing to him. He grasped Envy's hand and guided it to his erection, letting Envy palm him through the fabric.

"I don't see why you complain about being small," Envy teased. Edward blushed and turned his head into the pillow. Envy smiled down at him, rolling his hips slowly downward. Edward gasped and turned to look up at him.

"Envy…" Edward sighed, wanting the homunculus to continue. Envy smiled, continuing to rock his hips as he slid his hands underneath Edward's shirt. He lifted the garment over Edward's head, tossing it somewhere off to the side. Envy continued thrusting his hips downward until Ed was fully hard.

Ed moaned softly, and Envy splayed his hands over Ed's chest, feeling the muscles tighten under his hands. Envy slid downward, moving his hand to toy with the button on Ed's pants.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked. He had to make sure.

"Yeah," Ed breathed.

Envy snapped the button out of place, unzipping the zipper beneath it. He gripped the sides of the pants and pulled them down. Edward lifted his hips in assistance. Envy slid Ed's jeans down to his thighs, noting the prominent bulge in Ed's boxers. Envy shimmied Ed's jeans down to his ankles, removing his shoes and socks, and then throwing his pants away. Envy slid back up so he was sitting on Ed's lap. Ed laid perfectly still, feeling extremely exposed in his position.

"Ed," Envy murmured, "Relax." Ed nodded, taking a deep breath. Envy leaned down, taking one of Ed's nipples into his mouth. He felt Ed's hard length against his abs, and he was getting rather aroused himself. He tweaked Ed's other nipple between his fingers.

Envy licked and bit his way over to Ed's other nipple, and then down Ed's abs, feeling the muscles twitch underneath him.

"Envy…" Ed whispered, burying his hands in Envy's wild hair.

Envy ran his hands teasingly over the band on Ed's underwear. He dipped his fingers under the band ever so slightly. Edward's hips thrust upward. Envy was thrilled that he was making Edward as aroused as he was.

Envy rubbed his hand along the clothed hardness, feeling Ed's cock jump slightly at the attention. Envy placed a final kiss below Ed's abs before moving downward to suck at the bulge in Ed's boxers, wetting the fabric as he did so.

Edward's hair splayed out on the pillow as his breathing quickened. Envy's lips slowly left, leaving cold air in their wake.

Envy slowly removed Ed's boxers, finally tossing them aside. Ed gazed up at him, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Envy let out a possessive growl, making shivers go up and down Ed's spine. Envy had never seen anything so perfect.

Edward watched as Envy lowered his head, throwing his head back when Envy licked his length from base to tip. If he hadn't been under control, he could have come right in that moment.

Envy smirked and repeated the motion, earning a strangled moan for his actions. Edward slowly but surely began to relax, lifting his hips ever so slightly off the mattress.

Envy finally took Edward into his mouth, swallowing around his length. He felt the tip hit the back of his throat, and Edward keened. Edward tried to thrust upward but Envy grabbed his hips to keep him from doing so.

Envy had never truly enjoyed giving a blowjob before, but he found himself reveling in the sounds Edward was making. The small and high pitched noises that were spilling from Edward's mouth served to arouse Envy into full hardness. He bobbed his head up and down, watching as Ed became a moaning, writhing mess underneath him. He swirled his tongue around the tip, tasting the precum there.

Envy replaced his mouth with his hand, moving up to give Edward a kiss. Ed tugged at Envy's hair as he let the homunculus dominate the kiss. Envy broke away and moved to Edward's exposed neck, placing an open-mouthed kiss on the skin there. Envy found himself actually enjoying sex for the first time in his life.

"Envy, please…" Edward begged, watching as Envy kissed down his body and took Ed's cock into his mouth again.

Edward clenched his fists in the covers, moaning at the feeling of his orgasm building in him. He wondered fleetingly if it was too soon before all coherent thought left his head. He felt as if were slipping into oblivion.

Envy could feel the tension and prepared himself, sucking the tip of Ed's cock expectantly.

Lights danced behind Edward's eyelids. He came in Envy's mouth, and Envy swallowed all he had to offer. Envy let Ed thrust into his mouth as he rode out his orgasm. When he finally came down, he glanced down at Envy, who was smirking in triumph.

Ed tried to say Envy's name, but it came out in a strangled whisper. Envy heard the small noise and leaned up to kiss Edward. Ed could taste his own release on Envy's tongue, and he moaned in protest when Envy pulled away.

Ed reached up and began to tug at Envy's top, but his hands were still trembling and he didn't make much progress. Envy took pity on him and lifted the garment over his head, messing up his hair slightly in the process. Envy reached down and pulled Edward up into his lap, kissing the boy again. Ed let his hands slide up and down Envy's back, dipping inside Envy's skort.

Envy scooted back and shimmied out of his skort. Envy wasn't wearing underwear; there wasn't a whole lot of room for underwear with what he usually wore. Ed took in the raging hard on and gulped. He had no idea how that was supposed to fit inside him. Nevertheless, Ed reached forward and took Envy's erection in his hand, running his fingers from base to tip. Envy threw his head back and let himself enjoy the attention for a few moments.

Ed's hand faltered. Envy opened his eyes and looked down at Edward. The blonde had uncomfortable sort of expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Envy asked, trying to think of where his mistake had been.

"It's just…" Ed's eyes darted between Envy's face and the cock in his hands. "How're you going to fit?"

Envy might have laughed, normally, but Ed looked genuinely frightened.

"We don't have to go all the way tonight," he reassured him.

"No, I want to…" Ed trailed off. It wasn't so much for pleasure reasons that he wanted to. He simply wanted to share the experience with Envy, and he knew he was emotionally ready for it. It was the physical part he was having trouble wrapping his head around.

"Ed, don't force yourself," Envy murmured, placing a gentle kiss on the alchemist's forehead. "We can stop…"

"No, really, I'm just… nervous."

Envy smiled down at his lover gently, kissing Edward on the lips. "I'll take care of you. I promise."

"…Okay."

Envy positioned himself above Edward, starting to kiss him in earnest. Edward buried his hands in Envy's hair, pulling him closer. Their chests gently rubbed against each other. Ed wrapped his right leg around Envy's waist. The left moved as if to follow it, but he left it on the mattress. Envy paused, breaking the kiss for a moment. He reached down, grabbing Edward's automail leg under the knee and wrapping it around himself.

"Edward," Envy said, using his full name to get his attention. "I don't mind. Your automail is a part of you. That means it's perfect."

That was all it took. Ed grabbed Envy's head pulled down, their lips crushing together in a passionate kiss.

"I love you," Edward gasped between kisses, "So much."

"I love you, too," Envy whispered, grinding his hips downward.

Edward moaned at the friction. "Get on with it," he pleaded, lifting his hips so his cock rubbed against Envy's. Envy was only too happy to oblige.

"Lube?" he asked.

"In my coat pocket," Ed answered. Envy quickly rolled off the bed, retrieving the lube from Ed's coat, which he had draped over a chair earlier. When he returned, Ed was waiting with his legs spread, leaving himself completely exposed. Envy crawled up the bed, uncapping the bottle and pouring a generous amount over his fingers.

"Here," he said, moving a pillow underneath Ed's back. He ran his slick fingers over Edward's tight, puckered entrance.

Ed had never felt so exposed in his life, but Envy was gentle and reassuring, letting him know he was safe.

"It's okay. I'm here," Envy promised, gently massaging the tight ring of muscle at Ed's entrance. Ed relaxed, and Envy slowly slipped a single digit inside. Envy's cock twitched when he felt how hot and tight it was inside of Ed. He tried to imagine what it would feel like to put his cock inside that same warm, velvety heat. He groaned.

Ed tried to relax, letting Envy's finger slip deeper inside of him. It didn't feel bad, as he had expected it to. Rather, he was simply aroused by the idea that Envy's finger was inside of him. He thrust his hips downwards, starting to get into it. Even when Envy added a second finger, moving them deeper inside him, it didn't hurt. Envy was really being gentle.

"Envy…" Ed moaned, as Envy began to scissor his fingers. Finally, he added a third finger. That's when it started to sting. Ed whimpered a little, and Envy slowed his movements, taking it as slowly as he could.

"Shh… it's okay…"

Envy moved his fingers in and out of Ed's ass until Ed could no longer feel any pain.

"I think… I'm ready," Ed panted, looking up. His eyes were half closed and his cheeks were completely flushed. Envy had never seen anything so arousing in his entire life.

"Okay," Envy murmured, removing his fingers. Ed whimpered at the loss, stiffening when he felt something much bigger nudge at his entrance.

"Ed, you have to relax," Envy reminded him. Ed did his best, loosening his muscles as much as he could.

Envy breached the tight ring of muscle, pausing when the head was fully inside. The feeling of being inside Edward was amazing, but he had to be sure Ed was okay. Sure enough, Ed was covering his mouth with his hands, and tears were pooling in his eyes.

Envy reached up and brushed the tears away with his thumb, whispering words of comfort. Ed finally nodded, signaling that it was okay to continue. Envy pushed in further.

Ed was convinced he couldn't take more. He was simply too small, and Envy's cock was huge. Yet, somehow, Envy managed to push even deeper inside of him. He could feel every inch as Envy moved deeper and deeper inside him.

"You're halfway there," Envy encouraged, but all Ed could think about was the half still outside of him. How on earth was he supposed to fit more? He felt like he was going to explode. Finally, Ed felt Envy's hips against his ass, and he dropped his hands to the bed, fisting his fingers in the covers.

"You did great, Ed," Envy whispered, kissing away the fresh tears. "I'm so proud of you." With that, Envy closed his eyes, panting. Ed was so tight, and Envy could feel Ed's insides clenching and unclenching as he adjusted to his size.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Ed reached up and weakly grasped Envy's arm, getting his attention.

"…Move."

Envy pulled out until only the head was still inside, and then he slowly thrust back in. Ed's mouth formed a small "o," and his eyes widened. The pain was gone, leaving only the sensation of being utterly and completely filled. Ed's mind caught up with his body, and it occurred to him that Envy was _inside_ of him. It was the most erotic thought he'd ever had.

Ed began to meet Envy's thrusts, all but screaming when Envy brushed something inside of him that made lights dance behind his eyes.

Envy leaned down and kissed him, their tongues wrapping around each other. Ed was being filled at both ends, and he couldn't get enough of it. Envy had never felt so much pleasure. Ed was moaning and trembling underneath him, and the tight heat around his cock was almost too much for him to take.

Ed moaned into his mouth, suddenly breaking the kiss. "Envy… you… faster…"

Envy quickened his pace, and Ed thrust downward as they created a rhythm. Envy reached down to pump Edward's neglected cock, and Ed's hole tightened around him. Envy buried his free hand in Ed's golden hair, kissing him fervently. He moved down to kiss and suck at Ed's collar bones, leaving bright red marks in his wake.

Envy began to thrust harder. It felt as if he were falling upwards. The pressure in his groin began to increase, making him want to fuck Edward even faster. Edward's body began to tighten around him, only making his thrusts more forceful. Ed's moans became louder and louder, pushing Envy ever closer to his end.

But Envy wanted the sensation to last. He willed himself to slow down, stopping altogether so he could lift Ed's legs over his shoulders. He resumed his thrusts, slower this time. Ed cried out on every thrust, as the new angle made Envy's cock slam into his prostate every time. Ed's eyelids fluttered and closed, his moans increasing in volume. He could feel his orgasm drawing ever closer, and he felt like he might explode.

Edward came with a scream, his body spasming underneath Envy. Envy felt the walls around his cock tighten, and he encouraged Ed by thrusting deeper inside of him, stroking his cock. Ed looked up, his eyes finding Envy's. His expression was one of pure bliss, and his eyes were dilated, leaving only a thin strip of gold around the edges.

Envy followed shortly after, filling Edward with his cum. He lost his rhythm, thrusting erratically inside of Ed until he finally came down from his high.

Ed was still trembling uncontrollably by the time Envy calmed down, so Envy took Ed's face in his hands kissed him gently.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Ed was shaking rather badly. Envy was concerned.

"Y-yeah," Ed stuttered, "F-fine…"

"Promise?" Envy asked.

"Yeah…"

"Here," Envy said, and he pulled the covers out from under them and covered them. He wrapped his arms around Ed and held the boy to his chest until the shaking subsided.

"I love you," Envy said again. Nothing had ever been truer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I hate my writing. Oh well. This is the end of this story, and unless I have a serious change of heart, there will not be a sequel. I may write another Edvy fic, but that won't be for a while, I think. Thank you so much for reading. Good luck, my fellow Edvy fans. Let's all try to console ourselves with the fact that we aren't COMPLETELY alone.

**Author's Note:**

> My first work on AO3! If you see any errors, please let me know! I am my own beta, and sometimes that's not a good thing. Kudos and comments are very appreciated!


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